Need help with ideas in Amsterdam and Prague
 

My husband and I are taking 4 "20 something" kids to Rome, Amsterdam and Prague in April- we have been to Rome and are pretty comfortable there, but can anyone please help us with ideas in the other cities, besides castles????
They are adventurous and we have no problem taking day trips outside of cities. Will be in Amsterdam a couple of days and then about 5 days in Prague.

Hi, you should post your question on the Europe board; this is the US board.

Our twenty-somethings loved Amsterdam last June. I'd suggest they check the concert schedule for the Paradiso, as it's a very cool venue in Amsterdam. And the Cafe Katoen, directly across from the Hotel de L'Europe, is a hang out for university age clientele. Also, the Cafe de Jaren, just a half block up the street from there, is nice and has younger clientele, too.

Here's my trip report:
Amsterdam. Five nights’ stay, first visit for all of us.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Amsterdam! You always hear of the Red Light district and the coffee shops and the laissez-faire attitude, but you don’t hear how open and friendly the people are, how lovely the canals and side streets, how wonderfully trendy the restaurants and cafes, how people are out strolling at all hours of the night and you feel safe everywhere. I think I’d expected it to be quaint and charming (which it is), but in a dark wood-paneled cliché way, not in the young and contemporary way it is.

The standard reply we were given in Amsterdam, when we asked for anything, was always “Of course!” How refreshing.

We stayed in a fabulous location, at The Hotel Residence le Coin, which was directly across a small street from the Hotel de l’Europe, down the street from the Hotel Doelan, on Nieuwe Doelenstraat (sp?). A great neighborhood in the heart of old Amsterdam.

The hotel has a lift and A/C, also free use of the hotel’s washing machine and clothes dryer in the basement (which was welcome as we’d been traveling over a week when we arrived there). Each room has a little kitchenette, a nice-sized bath, large rooms with wooden floors and a sitting area. It’s fairly new, so everything sparkles. Very friendly front desk, too.

Two cafes on the same block as the hotel were wonderful: Café Katoen for a university atmosphere, and Café de Jaren, for great table seating on the canal.

Amazing dinners at two restaurants in particular:
“Stout!”, at Haarlemmerstraat 73 (www.restaurantstout.nl). Fabulous ‘foamy asparagus’ soup with shrimp, chateaubriande, fresh fish, dessert course, wine list. Very trendy lighting. Great service. We’d gone to the neighborhood in search of a restaurant called “Lof” which we’d seen written up. We didn’t like its atmosphere, but were lucky that Stout! was just across the street.

Also at “Restaurant Dining Eleven” we had a great dinner. It’s at Reestraat 11. Also trendy and contempory, well-presented and beautifully-served meal.

Another nice dinner at “frenzi”, at Swanenburgwal 232. Very simple and contemporary. We arrived shortly after 10:00p.m., when most restaurants close in Amsterdam, and persuaded the owner to sell us any left-overs they had in the kitchen! They put together a nice Caesar salad with cooked-in-the-shell shrimp and mango. Very nice.

Also a good brunch at a place across the street from frenzi—called “Puccini”. Creative salads and sandwiches. Very nice also.

We took a canal cruise one evening. Toured the Anne Frank Huis and the Van Gogh Museum. Visited the Nieuwe Kerk (sp?) Our teens went to a concert at the Paradiso and loved it.

One afternoon we did the 2:30 “Best of Holland” excursion to Volendam and Marken, with a stop to see wooden clogs made, Gouda cheese created, and to visit windmills. It was by bus, with a boat from Volendam to Marken. A lot of fun. Even our two teens liked it.

Our 'teens' also liked shopping at one street in particular, between our hotel and the museum district. Also a Zara shop there, and many others like it. They thought the selection and prices were better in Amsterdam than what they’d seen in London and Paris even.

A detail about Amsterdam if you go there-- carry enough Euros in cash, because many places won't accept a credit card for a 'small' purchase (i.e. under 25 EU).

Awesome! Thank you for your help- it sounded EXACTLY what we were looking for - have taken note of all and especially looking forward to the evening cruise. In fact I have extended our stay another day.

Hi alyflex, may I ask you a question. I am not being critical just being curious. Almost daily there seems to be questions regarding Europe on the United States Board instead of on the Europe Board. But there never seems to be questions about the United States on the Europe Board. And of course Fodor's has a lot more people that reside in the US than in Europe.

Sooo, my question is this if you don't mind my asking.

When you posted this thread were you thinking you were on the Europe Board (that happened to me once). Or were you under the impression that people in the United States should always post on the United States Board and people in Europe should always post on the Europe Board.

Thanks, and again, I have been curious for so long I decided to finally ask someone..and it was you, LOL. Best wishes and enjoy your trip, sounds like fun!

LoveItaly- I've been wondering the same thing. There are so many Europe questions lately, being posted on the United States board. Too many for it to be a simple mistake by the posters, I think.

Hi suze, I hope alyflex will post back and explain as I am really curious too. Just another one regarding Europe on the US Board today. I really do wonder why? Take care.

Like you said, maybe people think they are supposed to post on the board where they are FROM instead of the board to where they are GOING?

:-)

Hey folks, sorry but I have been out of town so haven't checked this site for awhile. To answer your burning question...(I've always wanted to answer a burning question!), it was my first posting and I thought I was in the Europe site. That's my excuse, can't speak for anyone else. I think I finally figured it out and posted another question on the Europe site (but received 2 not so positive remarks I might add).
I would still like any feedback from this posting if anyone checking out the U.S. site has anything to offer. Thanks!

My little brother lives in Amsterdam. Loves it so much that he won't come back to the U.S.! Make sure you visit the Anne Frank house while you are there. I agree with MaureenB's suggestions otherwise. Last time we went (2 yrs ago) we stayed at the Hotel Spaander on the waters edge in Volendam, which is just 25 km away from Amsterdam. We rented a car, but I'm pretty sure there is a bus that goes there. The town is really cute but be warned that the shops and restaurants all close very very early, even on weekends (most were closed at 6!) I think you can take a ferry across to Marken and it is great just to drive around the little villages or walk through the towns. We watched 2 guys just outside of town trying to repair their windmill for awhile.

Prague is a great city just to walk around in with no plans at all. The buildings are so awesome and have been restored very nicely since the wall came down. Make sure you walk through the Jewish section of town and do a Synagogue tour. Lots of history on the Jews and the war. Really really interesting. Visit Franz Kafka's old house (it's tiny!) although your kids may have to read about who he was. Make sure you walk over the river using the main bridge to see the Prague castle. That part of town is old and picturesque. Make sure to see the Astronomical clock on the old town hall strike the hour.
Food is still much cheaper there than most European cities, which is nice. All of the restaurant waiter/esses that we encountered spoke English and were very polite. We were there for 2 days in September 2004 and just walked around!

How will you be getting around in these cities?

awesome. sounds like some great ideas. We will be footing it or public transportation.

do one or two otehr towns in the czech republic and hungary maybe??

The czech town i love is cesky krumlov